Morally ambiguous situation....?

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So, my friends and I were chatting about some situations.

This is one example

You wander in to a McDonald's, and see some trays with (sealed) ketchup packets on them, left from a previous customer. They would be thrown away, and have been 'paid' for.

Would you be stealing if you took those sachets?

They're free...you just ask for them with your meal

Taking them home is cheap. Using them at McDonald's would be fine.
I put my unused sachets back.

You can’t steal something that is abandoned. Not legally possible.

Technically, yes, because they belong to the customer who paid for them, not to you. But I wouldn't see anything wrong with taking them - though I might question the functionality of your tastebuds given that restaurant sachet ketchup is usually pretty vile!

@Bringmewineandcake

You've not bought anything.

@MrsPerfect12

But, what if you just walk into McDonald's, take the sachets and leave. Not buying anything.

I wouldn’t think twice about taking them. What’s the point of not taking them? If the people that had asked for them had been that bothered about them, they’d have taken them home. They’d only be wasted and chucked in the bin so why not take them and use them?
It’s not like we’re talking about walking into McDonald’s and taking ketchup from someone who is mid-meal.

You can’t steal something that is abandoned. Not legally possible.

You can and it is.

far more difficult.
There is a train coming and the points are jammed so they can't be adjusted to go the proper route.

If it carries on it will kill 4 men working on the track (there is no way of these men knowing that the train is coming).
You can adjust another set of points but if you did this one person will be killed and it is YOU that has to make the adjustment
As the discussion goes on you can adjust (play devil's advocate) and make the single person someone you know or someone famous. Or you can make the 4 men ex convicts (adjusting the crime as necessary to further divide opinion).

Can get quite heated

They’re free though. You can’t steal something that is free.

Oooh, horrible one Khione. If the five involved were 'randomers' it would be fairly easy to choose the route of lower fatality. One of them being famous wouldn't affect my decision, but if the single person was a family member then it would get very difficult.

But, what if you just walk into McDonald's, take the sachets and leave. Not buying anything

Who would do that? Not that I could get worked up about it.

McDonalds wouldn't care unless someone was a persistent ketchup stealer who was taking great handfuls from every restaurant in town.

The person who left the ketchup on the tray wouldn't care either. They've left it there because they don't want it and are too lazy to tidy up after themselves properly.

If I took sauce sachets and didn't use them and they've just sat on my tray I would probably put them back with the sachets supply.

McDonalds wouldn't care unless someone was a persistent ketchup stealer who was taking great handfuls from every restaurant in town.

I know someone who was banned from Wetherspoons pubs for stealing condiments.

Khione's scenario would mean making a conscious decision to change the points which would kill that person, rather than doing nothing, which would kill 4. It would be hard to actually take action knowing you had chosen someone to die, rather than doing nothing and letting things happen.

If course you wouldn't !
If you buy a meal they don't charge you for them anyway.

They aren't left on the side at McDonald's , the closed sachets are under the till so they'd be slim pickings!
However if you went to a cafe without buying anything and with the sole intention of helping yourself to a load of ketchup sachets, mini packets of sugar etc then I suppose yes it would be stealing and is probably the reason why a lot of fast food type places charge for ketchup or keep it under the counter.